Installation began three weeks ago and the printer will be at full production by Monday (3 October). The new device replaces a three-year-old Xerox iGen4.
Greenshires is the second in the country to install the 2014-launched machine, after Warwickshire-based Emmerson Press took one just before Drupa.
Greenshires managing director Richard Dalby said: “We do large-format POS and have two Heidelberg XL presses but have never really been able to offer a digital solution to match our litho solution.
“When we went to Drupa and saw the Jet Press there and compared it to the competition, we realised it was something we could offer as an alternative to short-run litho. It produces the same quality as the litho presses do, for the very first time really in my opinion.
"I can’t believe I’m saying that, because I’m a litho snob," he added.
“We’ve got quite a big chunk of work at the moment that we are not competitive on and I’m hoping that this machine will be able to cover that work.”
Dalby said he considered upgrading his Xerox and also looked at HP Indigos before settling on the Jet Press.
The machine prints at a top speed of 2,700sph with 1,200dpi resolution. It uses Fuji Dimatix Samba printheads and has four-colour bar configuration.
Dalby visited Fujifilm’s advanced print technology centre in Brussels directly after Drupa where he challenged Fujifilm to print 18 of the most difficult jobs he could come up with.
“It was like a game of poker,” said Dalby.
“We couldn’t look too excited because we hadn’t signed for it yet but the quality was outstanding, these were 18 of the hardest jobs, both digital and litho, that we’ve had over the past two years, and it coped with them brilliantly."
Leicester-based Greenshires, which also has a warehouse in Kettering, will be recruiting another operator for the Jet Press in the near future and is likely to run it on double-day shifts, with the option to do 24 hours.
On the litho side, it runs two Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 105s with coaters, one six-colour and one five-colour. Last year, it turned over around £12.5m, which Dalby said it is looking to increase.
Earlier this month, Fujifilm launched its Acuity Select HS 30 series of printers. It will be exhibiting at the PrintWeekLive! show next March.
Its open house event at its headquarters in Bedford is currently taking place and ends tomorrow (29 September).
